Epilepsy Genes May Cancel Each Other

HOUSTON -- (November 4, 2007) -- Inheriting two genetic mutations that can individually cause epilepsy might actually be "seizure-protective," said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature Neuroscience. "In the genetics of the brain, two wrongs can make a right," said Dr. Jeffrey L. Noebels, professor of neurology, neuroscience and molecular and human genetics at BCM. "We believe these findings have great significance to clinicians as we move toward relying upon genes to predict neurological disease."